Garbanzo — Restaurant in Sardinal

I had a horrible experience at this place and want to warn other travelers. This place cheats its customers. We visited this restaurant last month - in early December, 2018, while on an impromptu vacation to Costa Rica.

We were helped at the restaurant by a Canadian woman with a short haircut who drives a golf cart to get around town. Two of us ordered a meal with spinach falafel (more on that further down).

The total came up to 9000 Colones. The exchange at the time (and still is, as of this writing in January, 2019) was 600 Colones to 1 U.S. Dollar, so this is equal to $15 U.S. Dollars. I gave the woman a $20 bill, and she looked me directly in the eye and gave me change of only 1000 Colones. She shortchanged me by 2000 Colones. In other words, she owed me $5 US and only gave me about $1.60 US.

I said to her "I have a question about the change you just gave me".

And her face just cracked. By stepping toward me, she started moving the conversation away from the open service window so we wouldn't be heard. This broke my heart, because it was very clear that she knew what she had done and had done it purposely.

She began stuttering about how the shop didn't have the "special cash registers" that do the "calculations" and how the formula to "translate the amount" varies. (For the record, there is no special formula. 1 Dollar = 600 Colones.) When she saw this wasn't working, she said, "Oh, you know what, I think you are right, I think I do owe you 1500 Colones".

Wow! She didn't give up on the hustle, but instead moved to plan B.

When I wasn't buying that either, she again looked around to see who heard, and finally said "Well, you tell me what you think I owe you". I told her she owed me 3000 Colones, and I had my phone's calculator open to demonstrate it to her.

She continued her fast talking about "conversions" but gave me the proper change. When we asked for a copy of the receipt, she again became defensive, and instead of using the carbon copy service slip she used to write the order, she wrote a brand new "receipt" that was extremely nondescript, listing only "9000 Colones".

She then came over to our table no fewer than 4 times, ostensibly to see how we were liking the food, but obviously, to gauge whether we would take the issue up with anyone else. Then, before we were halfway through with out meal, she randomly ran off to her golf cart, stating that she was off, and sped down the street. When the gentleman (also Canadian), at the establishment asked about our visit to Costa Rica, I replied that it had been "interesting" and that I was hoping it would improve. He seemed confused, but checked on our table three times himself!

We were warned that local Costa Ricans would try this trick with us, but not one did! Not one! Even the taxi cab driver, the gas station attendant, the street vendors - everyone whipped out a calculator or a pen to divide or multiply by 600 whenever needed, and we did the same. Literally, no Costa Rican tried it! Some folks did have cash registers that would show both the Dollar amount and Colones amount, but this was hardly necessary as the math is very simple. Only at Le Coq did we have to fight for correct change. So much for honesty from our North American neighbors.

There were other reasons we'd never send anyone here.

1. The restaurant's dog appeared when our food came out, joined us on the deck, and began insistently begging and bumping our legs. The restaurant staff saw this, but did not remove him.
2. The food was actually dry and tasteless, and the spinach falafel tasted terrible. I've had bad falafel as it is often the only vegetarian option. This falafel was not bad...It was terrible.
3. The fruit drinks they offer are syrupy sweet, but lacking in good...

Hidden Gem! Le Coq is a small restaurant with tremendous flavor. Located right off the main street in Playas del Coco, there is street parking and a small outdoor seating area. We found this spot on our second to last day here and ate here two days in a row. The service and food was the best we found in Coco. We met the owner the first night for dinner and he really gave off a positive energy that reflected in the dishes served to us. Our second visit was for lunch and it was equally as good if not better. I highly recommend the Chicken Wrap Combos and the Chicken Mixed Plates, not only were they a great value but they were absolutely delicious. We had the homemade hot sauce and I am addicted. The flavors were so unique and spicy hot. We had the pleasure of trying the Cass Juice with our lunch too. This juice is now my #1 favorite in the world. Thank you for such a pleasant experience, I wish there was a second location in Tamarindo, I would eat here every day if I could. I will be coming back to Playas del Coco just...

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